Aggregator system having a platform for engaging mobile device users

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are presented for attracting and engaging a user for a merchant system. A selectable option associated with the merchant system is displayed on a client device associated with a user. An indication of a user selection of the selectable option is received, and a content page is provided to the client device in response to the indication. Customer relationship management (CRM) information associated with the user of the client device is received from a carrier system associated with the client device. A transaction is processed for the user on behalf of the merchant system, based on the CRM information, and data associated with the user and the transaction are output to the merchant system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/458,071, filed Aug. 12, 2014, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to an aggregator system that implements aplatform for attracting and engaging users of mobile devices on behalfof merchant systems, and more particularly relates to an aggregatorsystem that communicates with a carrier system in order to moreeffectively engage users of mobile devices.

SUMMARY

Methods and systems are provided for attracting and engaging new usersfor a merchant system. Typically, advertising is performed to attractnew users to a merchant system, where the advertising is usuallycontrolled by the merchant system. A merchant system may be web serverthat publishes an online ecommerce website, or any other entity thatprovides products, services, or both. Processing a transaction, such asa new user registration, to engage attracted new users has proven to bea cumbersome process. The new users must complete transaction relatedinformation, including payment information, which may be tedious anddifficult to enter on a client device, such as a mobile phone.Accordingly, the present disclosure provides an aggregator systemcapable of attracting and engaging users for a merchant system in a morestreamlined and less cumbersome manner by advertising products orservices provided by a merchant to attract users associated with clientdevices, engaging the users by processing one or more transactions forthe users based on respective user information, and providing dataassociated with engaged users and data associated with the processedtransactions to the merchant system.

In some embodiments, an aggregator system causes a selectable optionassociated with a merchant system to be displayed on a client device.The aggregator system further receives an indication of a user selectionof the selectable option, and provides a content page to the clientdevice in response to the user selection of the selectable option. Theaggregator system further receives CRM information from a carrier systemin response to the user selection of the selectable option, where theCRM information is associated with the user. The aggregator systemfurther processes a transaction for the user on behalf of a merchantsystem based at least in part on the CRM information. The aggregatorsystem further communicates data associated with the user and dataassociated with the transaction to the merchant system.

In some embodiments, an aggregator method includes displaying aselectable option associated with a merchant system on a client deviceassociated with a user. The aggregator method further includes receivingan indication of a user selection of the selectable option, andproviding a content page to the client device based on the userselection of the selectable option. The aggregator method furtherincludes receiving CRM information from the carrier system response tothe user selection of the selectable option, where the CRM informationis associated with the user. The aggregator method further includesprocessing a transaction for the user on behalf of the merchant systembased at least in part on the CRM information. The aggregator methodfurther includes communicating data associated with the user and dataassociated with the transaction to the merchant system.

In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable medium hasstored instructions that, when executed, direct a mobile customeracquisition platform (MCAP) to display a selectable option associatedwith a merchant system on a client device associated with a user. Theinstructions, when executed, further direct a client device input toreceive an indication of a user selection of the selectable option. Theinstructions, when executed, further direct the MCAP to provide acontent page to the client device based on the user selection of theselectable option. The instructions, when executed, further direct acarrier input to receive CRM information associated with the user inresponse to the user selection of the selectable option. Theinstructions, when executed, further direct the MCAP to process atransaction on behalf of the merchant system based at least in part onthe CRM information. The instructions, when executed, further direct amerchant output to output data associated with the user and dataassociated with the transaction to the merchant system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The above and other features of the present disclosure, its nature andvarious advantages will be more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of illustrative systems and devicesimplemented in a network environment in accordance with some embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing illustrative paths of communicationbetween systems and devices in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an illustrative aggregator system inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an illustrative merchant system inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an illustrative carrier system inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an illustrative client device in accordancewith some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram including illustrative steps for outputtingdata corresponding to a user and data corresponding to a transaction inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an illustrative mobile customer acquisitionplatform (MCAP) in accordance with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an illustrative process flow forattracting and engaging a new user in accordance with some embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 shows a sequence of illustrative displays in which a useraccount is created and a payment is processed in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The present disclosure is directed towards attracting new users for amerchant system and using user related information to engage the newusers for the merchant system. Techniques for attracting users to aproduct or service offered by a merchant in the mobile device context,for example, can rely on delivering digital advertisements to users'mobile devices from a server controlled by a third party entity orcontrolled by the merchant whose products or services are being promotedby the delivered advertisements. These digital advertisements, which aredisplayed on the recipient mobile device's display screen can byselected by the user (e.g., by touching the displayed advertisement on atouch sensitive display). The selection of the advertisement can resultin content being delivered (e.g., in the form of a web page), from aserver controlled by, for example, the merchant. In some cases, themerchant may desire to have new users register an account, which mayinclude a payment transaction in response to a user selecting adelivered advertisement. For example, an online dating service may bepromoted by a delivered digital advertisement, the selection of whichwill present the user with a form to fill out to process a payment inorder to register the user with the online dating service. Often times,these types of forms are tedious to fill out and provide for a less thanideal experience for the user. In addition, sophisticated merchantsystems are often required to implement the ability to deliver digitaladvertisements and to process responses thereto.

In order to provide a more efficient and pleasant experience and inorder to avoid requiring sophisticated merchant system infrastructures,an aggregator system, distinct from the merchant system, may be used toimplement a platform that delivers digital advertisements to mobiledevices, including targeted advertisements, and also processes theselection of the advertisements by users, including payment andregistration transactions. In order to streamline the process ofentering into a transaction and to create a more pleasant experience forthe user, the aggregator system may be a trusted system that is able tocommunicate with carrier systems, such as AT&T, associated with mobiledevices. The aggregator system can retrieve personal information fromthe carrier system associated with an account of a user of a mobiledevice who desires to enter into a transaction with a merchant by virtueof selecting a delivered digital advertisement, where the aggregatorsystem first receives consent from the user to retrieve the personalinformation. This information can be used in processing the transactionby the aggregator system and will avoid the need to have the user enterthat information manually. When the aggregator system processes a newuser transaction, information may then be communicated to the merchantsystem regarding the processed transaction.

For example, an aggregator system of the present invention may advertisea product or service provided by a merchant system to attract a newuser, and may receive and use information related to the new user topre-populate data fields related to a transaction necessary to engagethe new user, such as a payment transaction or a registration. The userrelated information may be, for example, customer relationshipmanagement (CRM) information stored at a carrier system. The user may beassociated with a client device, for example, a mobile phone, and mayhave an account with the carrier system. The carrier system providesmobile network services to the client device. In the United States,examples of carrier systems include systems operated by Verizon, AT&T,and Sprint, among others. CRM information, as referred to herein, isunderstood to refer to any suitable user-specific data, includingpersonal information such as, for example, name, address, telephonenumber, email, client device location, payment information, any othersuitable information, or any combination thereof. A carrier systemtypically stores CRM information associated with its users. Attempts aremade by the carrier system to keep its stored CRM information securebecause of the sensitive nature of the personal information containedtherein.

In accordance with the present disclosure, a system is provided that isconfigured to access CRM information stored at the carrier system and touse the CRM information to attract and engage new users for a merchantsystem. In some embodiments, this is accomplished by advertising aproduct or service provided by a merchant, using CRM informationassociated with users who select the advertisement to processtransactions for these users, and communicating user information andtransaction information to the merchant system. This provides a merchantsystem with new users without requiring the merchant system to directlyattract and engage the new users.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of illustrative systems and devicesimplemented in a network environment in accordance with some embodimentsof the present disclosure. Aggregator system 100, merchant system 102,carrier system 104, and client device 106 may be coupled via network108. Network 108 may include or communicate with any suitable one ormore network structure or structures, such any suitable local areanetwork (LAN), wide area network (WAN) (e.g., the internet), wirelesslocal area network (WLAN), a mobile communications network, any othersuitable network, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments,network 108 may be a carrier network provided and operated by carriersystem 104. The lines coupling network 108 to the various systems anddevices may represent a wireless coupling, a wired coupling, any othersuitable coupling, or any combination thereof. For example, devices andsystems may be connected to network 108 through a WiFi or Ethernetconnection, with access to the internet. In another example, clientdevice 106 may be coupled to network 108 using one or more mobilecommunications networks, such as a 3G, 4G, LTE, cellular network, anyother suitable mobile communications network, or any combinationthereof.

Aggregator system 100 may be any suitable system which acts as anintermediary between two or more systems, such as between client device106 and carrier system 104, merchant system 102 and carrier system 104,client device 106 and merchant system 102, between any other systems anddevices, or any combination thereof. Aggregator system 100 may act as anintermediary by facilitating the communication of information, such aspayment information (e.g. credit card information, PayPal information,routing number data, bank account information, billing address, legalname, social security number, any other suitable information related tomaking a payment, or any combination thereof) and/or registrationinformation (e.g., name, address, email, phone number, social securitynumber, payment information, any other suitable information, or anycombination thereof), between two systems. It should be understood thatprotected information associated with a user, such as a social securitynumber, may only be accessed by trusted systems and devices to whichpermission has been granted by the user. In some embodiments, certainpersonal information, such as social security number information neednot be accessed, stored, and/or used by aggregator system 100.Aggregator system 100 may be trusted by carrier system 104, and mayaccess CRM information stored in carrier system 104 for securecommunication to merchant system 102 or client device 106. An example ofaggregator system 100 is the system developed and operated by Danal Inc.(doing business as BilltoMobile) located in San Jose, Calif., whichprovides mobile payment services to merchants using data provided byUnited States carrier systems. In some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, aggregator system 100 may be configured to provide CRMinformation to client device 106 or merchant system 102 for use in atransaction via network 108.

Merchant system 102 may be any suitable one or more entities capable ofentering into a transaction with a client device. Examples of atransaction include a purchase transaction for goods, services, or bothprovided by merchant system 102, a money transfer, a bill payment, atransaction that results in access to banking information, bankingservices, or both, any other suitable transaction, or any combinationthereof. Merchant system 102 may include, for example, a web server thatpublishes a website which requires personal information (e.g., paymentinformation, registration information). Examples of merchant system 102include systems operated by Amazon.com, Citibank, freecreditscore.com,among others. In some embodiments, merchant system 102 may be configuredto communicate with client device 106 (e.g., enable a transaction) usingnetwork 108.

Carrier system 104 may be any suitable system which provides mobilenetwork services to client device 106. Providing mobile network servicesto client device 106 may include providing a carrier network to clientdevice 106. For example, a carrier system may be a system operated byVerizon, Sprint, or AT&T.

Client device 106 is any suitable hardware circuitry, software, or boththat can be used to conduct a transaction with merchant system 102 usingthe carrier network provided by carrier system 104. In some embodiments,a client device of the present disclosure may be a mobile phone. Amobile phone may be associated with a mobile phone number, a carriersystem, any other mobile phone identification information, or anycombination thereof. A client device may be a tablet device, laptopdevice, any other suitable client device, mobile or otherwise, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, carrier system 104 may includeor have access to CRM information associated with client device 106, andmay be configured to communicate the CRM information to aggregatorsystem 100 via network 108.

FIG. 2 is block diagram showing illustrative paths of communicationbetween the systems and devices of FIG. 1 in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure. Aggregator system 202 may beconfigured to communicate with merchant system 204, carrier system 208,and client device 206 via communications channels 210, 212, and 218respectively. Merchant system 204 may be configured to communicate withaggregator system 202 and client device 206 via communication channels210 and 218 respectively. Client device 206 may be configured tocommunicate with merchant system 204, aggregator system 202, and carriersystem 208 via communication channels 216, 218, and 214 respectively.Carrier system 208 may be configured to communicate with aggregatorsystem 202 and client device 206 via communication channels 212 and 214respectively. Communication between systems and devices may includecommunicating over a network, such as network 108 of FIG. 1, and mayinclude receiving data, sending data, or both.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of illustrative aggregator system 300 inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Aggregatorsystem 300 may be any suitable aggregator system, such as aggregatorsystem 100 of FIG. 1 or aggregator system 202 of FIG. 2. In someembodiments, aggregator system 300 may be implemented in a networkenvironment, such as that of FIG. 1. Aggregator system 300 may includeany suitable software, hardware circuitry, or both configured toimplement the features as described herein. For example, aggregatorsystem 300 may include server hardware circuitry and software.Aggregator system 300 may include communication circuitry 302, storagesystem 318, and processing equipment 320.

Communication circuitry 302 may be configured with any suitablesoftware, hardwired instructions, or both to communicate with database304 and processing equipment 320, and may include inputs, outputs, anyother mechanisms which facilitate communication with other systems anddevices, or any combination thereof. An input or output is a relativecommunication channel that can be used to receive or send data,respectively. A communication channel may be established as, forexample, an IP protocol-based communications session using any suitablenetwork infrastructure, including the Internet, any proprietary LAN,WAN, any other suitable network infrastructure, or any combinationthereof. Inputs and outputs may be implemented as one or more physicalports, a data storage device, any other suitable hardware circuitryinterface, software interface, or any combination thereof. For example,aggregator system 300 may include a carrier input coupled to a carriersystem and configured to receive data from the carrier system, a carrieroutput coupled to the carrier system and configured to output data tothe carrier system, a merchant input coupled to a merchant system andconfigured to receive data from the merchant system, a merchant outputcoupled to the merchant system and configured to output data to themerchant system, a client device input coupled to a client device andconfigured to receive data from the client device, a client deviceoutput coupled to the client device and configured to output data to theclient device, any other suitable input or output, or any combinationthereof. While different inputs and outputs are described, it will beunderstood that they need not be separate components and two or more ofthe inputs and/or outputs may be implemented as a single component thatcan be used to send or receive data relative to more than onedestination or source, respectively. For example, communicationcircuitry 302 may include a transceiver, such as an Ethernet card, orany other suitable device or circuitry which facilitates communicationwith other systems and devices.

Storage system 318 may include any suitable hardware, software, or bothfor implementing an organized data storage system capable of storing oneor more databases and information related to, for example, merchantdata, client device data, user data, authentication, rules, and carrierdata. For example, storage system 318 may include database 304. In someembodiments, storage system 318 may store information which is notstored in database 304, such as information related to, for exampleapplication programming interfaces (APIs), HTML for content pages, anyother suitable information, and any combination thereof.

Database 304 may include any suitable hardware circuitry, software, orboth for implementing an organized data storage system capable ofstoring information related to, for example, merchant data, clientdevice data, user data, and carrier data. Information related tomerchant data may include, for example, stock keeping units (SKUs)related to goods for sale, customer service contact information (e.g., aphone number, an email address, a hyperlink for a website), data relatedto criteria for revoking authentication, any other merchant data, or anycombination thereof. Information related to client device data mayinclude, for example, a mobile device number, identification informationassociated with a client device, any other client device data, or anycombination thereof. In some embodiments, database 304 may storeencrypted information. For example, hashed information may be generatedusing a hash operation, and the hashed information may be stored indatabase 304.

Processing equipment 320 may be configured to process data received fromother systems and devices (e.g., a client device, a merchant system, acarrier system, or any other suitable system or device), process data tobe output to other systems and devices, generate data (e.g., generateauthentication information), analyze data (e.g., identify a clientdevice based on identification information), and perform other tasks. Insome embodiments, processing equipment 320 may include one or morecircuitries for performing the functionality as described herein, suchas mobile customer acquisition platform (MCAP) 306, request processingcircuitry 312, data verification circuitry 310, data integrationcircuitry 308, identification circuitry 314, advertising circuitry 316,any other suitable processing equipment, or any combination thereof. Thecircuitries within processing equipment 320 may communicate with oneanother to implement the features as described herein. Additionally, thecircuitries within processing equipment 320 may all be implementedtogether on one or more devices. In some embodiments, processingequipment 320 may communicate with communication circuitry 302 anddatabase 304 to retrieve or transmit information (e.g. identificationinformation, authentication information, any other suitable information,or any combination thereof). For example, processing equipment 320 maysend identifying information associated with a client device, such as amobile phone number, to database 304 to retrieve additional informationrelated to the client device or user in possession of the client device.Processing equipment 320 may be any suitable software, hardwarecircuitry, or both sufficient to implement the circuitries within. Forexample, processing equipment 320 may include one or moremicroprocessors.

Advertising circuitry 316 may be configured with any suitable software,hardwired instructions, or both to provide digital advertisementsintended to be displayed on a display screen of a client device. Forexample, advertising circuitry 316 may be at least a portion or one ormore integrated circuit processors. Advertisements may be, for example,advertisements related to the promotion of a product or service providedby a merchant through a system operated by the merchant, referred toherein as a merchant system, which term shall generally refer to themerchant and its associated system. For example, advertising circuitry316 may be configured to provide advertisements for the promotion of anonline dating service provided by a merchant through an associatedmerchant system. In some embodiments, aggregator system 300 may deliverthe advertisements to a client device, such as client device 106 of FIG.1, using an advertising network or any other suitable entity whichenables the delivery of advertisements. An advertising network may beany suitable entity that provides access to one or more websites capableof hosting advertisements. The client device may display advertisementson its display screen using any suitable software, hardware circuitry,or both on the client device.

In some embodiments, advertisements may be targeted advertisements.Targeted advertisements may be, for example, any advertisements targetedto be delivered to a specific subset of users associated with respectiveclient devices based on one or more parameters, such as the carriersystem associated with the respective client devices of the users,information related to the age of the users, information related to thegender of the users, information related to the geographic location ofthe users, any other suitable parameter, or any combination thereof. Insome embodiments, aggregator system 300 may determine information, forexample age information, about the users of respective client devicesand may decide based on this information which advertisements to deliverto which client devices. For example, advertising circuitry 316 mayprovide an advertisement for the promotion of an online dating serviceprovided by a merchant through an associated merchant system, where theadvertisement is targeted to be delivered to client devices belonging tousers who are male and have an age between twenty-five and thirty-five.In some embodiments, advertising circuitry 316 may be configured tocommunicate, for example, using communication circuitry 302, with anysuitable entities that have the ability to target the delivery ofadvertisements to specific users. For example, aggregator system 300 mayhave a partnership or an agreement with a media-buying company able totarget the delivery of advertisements to users between the ages of fortyand fifty, and advertising circuitry 316 may deliver advertisementsbased on information related to users between the ages of forty andfifty that is received from the media-buying company via communicationcircuitry 302.

An advertisement displayed on a client device may be selectable by auser, for example, as a hyperlink in a web browser. When anadvertisement is selected by a user, the user may be provided withadditional information about the product or service being promoted bythe advertisement. For example, a user may select an advertisement thatincludes information about a discounted dating membership offered by amerchant system, where the advertisement is displayed on a client devicebelonging to the user, and in response the client device may displaypricing information related to and benefits included in the discounteddating membership being promoted by the advertisement. Advertisingcircuitry 316 may be at least partially implemented as a part of MCAP306.

MCAP 306 may be any suitable software, hardware circuitry, or bothconfigured to provide an integrated platform that allows aggregatorsystem 300 to perform functions on behalf of a merchant system and toengage users in connection with a product or service provided by themerchant system. In other words, MCAP 306 may provide a more streamlinedprocess for engaging new users for a merchant system. In someembodiments, features that are used to engage a user associated with aclient device may include, for example, providing content pages (e.g.,webpages) to client devices related to products or services provided bya merchant system, retrieving information associated with a user of aclient device (e.g., CRM information), temporarily storing informationassociated with a user of a client device, processing a transaction fora user of a client device, any other suitable feature, or anycombination thereof. It should be understood that aggregator system 300,or any processing equipment thereof, for example MCAP 306, maytemporarily store CRM information associated with a user solely for thepurpose of providing information where aggregator system 300 acts as anintermediary between systems and client devices, such that the user'sprivacy is preserved. For example, aggregator system 300 may temporarilystore CRM information associated with a user of a client device untilthe information is communicated to a merchant system, where aggregatorsystem 300 is configured to act as an intermediary between the merchantsystem and the client device. If aggregator system 300, or anyprocessing equipment thereof, for example MCAP 306, is deemed to be atrusted system by a carrier system that stores CRM information, and ifpermission is granted to aggregator system 300 by the carrier system,then aggregator system 300 or any processing equipment or databasethereof may be configured to store CRM information.

In some embodiments, MCAP 306 may be configured to provide a contentpage to a client device to be displayed when a user selects anadvertisement. A content page may be, for example, a webpage, or anyother suitable document including static or dynamic content. A contentpage may include, for example, additional information related to theproduct or service being promoted by the selected advertisement. Forexample, advertising circuitry 316 may provide an advertisement to aclient device that advertises a gym membership offered by a merchantsystem, and MCAP 306 may be configured to provide a webpage withadditional information related to pricing for and benefits included inthe gym membership being promoted when a user selects (e.g., clicks on)the advertisement. A content page may include specific informationrelated to a product or service being promoted by a selectedadvertisement such as, for example, pricing information, a descriptionof products and/or services being promoted by the advertisement, anyother suitable information, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, a content page may also include data fields related to userinformation and information required for a transaction, where the datafields must be completed for the user to participate in the product orservice promoted by the advertisement. For example, a user may select anadvertisement related to a promotion for a one-month gym membership, andupon user selection of the advertisement MCAP 306 may display contentpage on the user's client device which includes information indicatingthat the gym membership is $24.99/month, benefits information includedin the gym membership, data fields related to creating a new useraccount with the gym, and data fields related to processing a payment of$24.99.

MCAP 306 may determine when to provide a content page to a client devicebased on a received request to display a content page. For example, whena user selects an advertisement on a client device, advertisingcircuitry 316 may request MCAP 306 to provide a content page withadditional information related to the product or service being promotedby the advertisement. In some embodiments, when advertising circuitry316 provides targeted advertisements based on information received fromthird party entity, the third party entity may be configured to requestMCAP 306 to provide a content page in response to a user selection of anadvertisement. In other embodiments, advertising circuitry 316, or anyother suitable entity or processing equipment, may request that MCAP 306provide a content page in response to a user selection of anadvertisement. A request for MCAP 306 to provide a content page to aclient device may include calling an MCAP uniform resource locater(URL). In response to a call to the MCAP URL, MCAP 306 may provide acontent page (e.g., webpage) to a client device, for example, byredirecting a web browser on the client device to a URL that correspondsto the content page. As used herein, the term “web browser” may includewithin its scope any suitable software for displaying webpages. Forexample, when a user selects an advertisement related to a promotion fora product or service provided by a merchant through an associatedmerchant system, advertising circuitry 316 may call the MCAP URL, and inresponse the MCAP URL may redirect the user's client device web browserto a URL that corresponds to a content page with additional informationregarding the product or service being promoted by the advertisement.

In some embodiments, MCAP 306 may be configured to provide content pageshaving a layout that is optimized for a client device, established bycode written in, for example, HTML 5, Javascript, any other suitableprogramming language, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments,MCAP 306 may be configured to provide more than one content page, andmay be configured to transition from a first content page to a secondcontent page based on user selection of the first content page. Forexample, MCAP 306 may provide content page A in response to a MCAP URLcall, and may be configured to provide content page B in response to auser selection of content included in content page A. Additionally, MCAP306 may be configured to provide different content pages for differentselected advertisements. In some embodiments, parameters identifying theselected advertisement or the product or service being promoted by theselected advertisement may be provided when the MCAP URL is called. Forexample, MCAP 306 may be configured to provide one content page inresponse to a MCAP URL call that indicates a user selection of anadvertisement A, and may be configured to provide a different contentpage in response to a MCAP URL call that indicates a user selection ofan advertisement B, where advertisement B is different fromadvertisement A.

In some embodiments, MCAP 306 may be configured to receive CRMinformation associated with a user of an identified client device. Aclient device may be identified, for example, using identificationcircuitry 314 of aggregator system 300. MCAP 306 may receive CRMinformation from, for example, a carrier system associated with theclient device of a user. In some embodiments MCAP 306 may temporarilystore CRM information, for example, in a database such as database 304.In some embodiments, MCAP 306 may use the CRM information to process atransaction, such as, for example, a purchase transaction, a userregistration, a user account creation, a request for additionalinformation related to a merchant system, any other suitabletransaction, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, MCAP 306may process a transaction by pre-populating data fields related to thetransaction included in a content page. For example, a user may selectan advertisement for a dating membership for $30, the user may beidentified by aggregator system 300, and MCAP 306 may provide a contentpage to be displayed on the user's client device that includes datafields related to processing a payment for $30. In this example, MCAP306 may be configured to access CRM information for the identified user,and to pre-populate the data fields related to processing a payment for$30 based on the CRM information.

In some embodiments, MCAP 306 may be configured to process a transactionusing one or more APIs stored in aggregator system 300. The APIs storedin aggregator system 300 may be stored in a database, such as database304, and may enable MCAP 306 to connect with APIs of a merchant systemto perform functions such as processing a transaction on behalf of themerchant system. The APIs stored in aggregator system 300 may beconfigured to integrate with the APIs of a merchant system, such thatthe merchant system APIs need not integrate with the APIs stored byaggregator system 300. MCAP 306 may use APIs stored in aggregator system300 to process a transaction by including one or more APIs in a contentpage. For example, MCAP 306 may be configured to display a content pagethat includes data fields required to create a new user account with amerchant system and code that when executed calls an API which enablesaccount creation on behalf of the merchant system, such that a userviewing the content page may create an account with the merchant system.

Identification circuitry 314 may be configured with any suitablesoftware, hardwired circuitry, or both to identify a client device basedon client device identification information. For example, identificationcircuitry 314 may be at least a portion of one or more integratedcircuit processors. Identifying a client device may enable aggregatorsystem 300 to access information associated with the client device, tocommunicate with the client device, to authenticate the client device,to process a transaction on the client device, to perform any othersuitable action, or any combination thereof. A client device may beidentified, for example, by way of a mobile originated (MO) messageidentification technique, a mobile terminated (MT) identificationtechnique, a header enrichment identification technique, any othersuitable identification technique, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, client device identification circuitry 314 may beconfigured to store client device identification information in adatabase, such as database 304, and may be configured to identify aclient device based at least in part on information stored in database304. Client device identification information may include, for example,information identifying a mobile phone number associated with the clientdevice, information identifying a carrier system associated with theclient device, information identifying software or hardware circuitry ofthe client device, information identifying a user in possession of theclient device, any other suitable identification information, or anycombination thereof. For example, client device identification circuitry314 may identify a client device by identifying and storing a mobilephone number associated with a client device based on client deviceidentification information which is received from a carrier system.

Request processing circuitry 312 may be configured with any suitablesoftware, hardwired circuitry, or both to process requests from othersystems and devices, such as merchant system 102 of FIG. 1, carriersystem 104 of FIG. 1, and client device 106 of FIG. 1. For example,request processing circuitry 312 may be at least a portion of one ormore integrated circuit processors. Requests may include a request tooutput information, a request to accept information, such as a rule, arequest to validate information, a request to process a transaction, anyother suitable request, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments,one or more requests may be received by communication circuitry 302, andpassed from communication circuitry 302 to request processing circuitry312. Request processing circuitry 312 may determine an appropriateresponse to each of the one or more requests, such as processinginformation, retrieving information, transmitting information, any othersuitable response, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments,request processing circuitry 312 may be configured to process and/orrespond to requests received from other circuitries within processingequipment 320. For example, request processing circuitry 312 may receivea request for information associated with a client device, and may inresponse retrieve information from database 304 and communicate theinformation to communication circuitry 302 to be output.

Data verification circuitry 310 may be configured with any suitablesoftware, hardwired circuitry, or both to verify information associatedwith a client device, such as client device 106 of FIG. 1. For example,data verification circuitry 310 may be at least a portion of one or moreintegrated circuit processors. In one embodiment, aggregator system 300may receive information associated with a client device from one or moresources, and data verification circuitry 310 may be configured to verifythe information. In another embodiment, request processing circuitry 312may receive a request from a merchant system to verify informationassociated with a client device, and data verification circuitry 310 mayverify the information. Verification may include comparing receivedinformation to information stored in database 304, comparing receivedinformation to information received from one or more sources,deterministic matching, probabilistic matching, fuzzy matching, anyother suitable verification technique, or any combination thereof. Insome embodiments, verifying information associated with a client devicemay include verifying information associated with a user in possessionof the client device.

Data integration circuitry 308 may be configured with any suitablesoftware, hardwired circuitry, or both to integrate informationassociated with a client device which is received from one or moresources. For example, data integration circuitry 308 may be at least aportion of one or more integrated circuit processors. In one embodiment,aggregator system 300 may receive information associated with a clientdevice from one or more sources, and data integration circuitry 308 mayintegrate the data received from the one or more sources. Dataintegration may include, for example, eliminating inconsistenciesbetween information from different sources or between informationreceived from one source and information stored in a database (e.g.,database 304), eliminating duplicate information from different sourcesor between information received from one source and information storedin a database (e.g., database 304), any other suitable integrationtechnique, or any combination thereof. Sources may include interestedparties such as, for example, carrier systems, financial institutions,utility companies, government organizations, universities, schools, anyother suitable sources, or any combination thereof.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of illustrative merchant system 400 inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Merchantsystem 400 may be any suitable merchant system, for example, merchantsystem 102 of FIG. 1 or merchant system 204 of FIG. 2. In someembodiments, merchant system 400 may be implemented in a networkenvironment, such as that of FIG. 1. Merchant system 400 may include anysuitable software, hardware circuitry, or both configured to implementthe features as described herein. For example, merchant system 400 mayinclude server hardware circuitry and software. Merchant system 400 mayinclude communication circuitry 402, storage system 416, and processingequipment 412.

Communication circuitry 402 may be configured with any suitablesoftware, hardwired instructions, or both to communicate with database414 and processing equipment 412, and may include inputs, outputs, anyother mechanisms which facilitate communication with other systems anddevices, or any combination thereof. An input or output is a relativecommunication channel that can be used to receive or send data,respectively. A communication channel may be established as, forexample, an IP protocol-based communications session using any suitablenetwork infrastructure, including the Internet, any proprietary LAN,WAN, any other suitable network infrastructure, or any combinationthereof. Inputs and outputs may be implemented as one or more physicalports, a data storage device, any other suitable hardware circuitryinterface, software interface, or any combination thereof. For example,merchant system 400 may include a carrier input coupled to a carriersystem and configured to receive data from the carrier system, a carrieroutput coupled to the carrier system and configured to output data tothe carrier system, an aggregator input coupled to an aggregator systemand configured to receive data from the aggregator system, an aggregatoroutput coupled to the aggregator system and configured to output data tothe aggregator system, a client device input coupled to a client deviceand configured to receive data from the client device, a client deviceoutput coupled to the client device and configured to output data to theclient device, any other suitable input or output, or any combinationthereof. In the context of the present disclosure, it may bepreferential for merchant system 400 to not include a carrier input anda carrier output. That is, merchant system 400 need not be able tocommunicate with a carrier system in preferred embodiments of thepresent disclosure. While different inputs and outputs are described, itwill be understood that they need not be separate components and two ormore of the inputs and/or outputs may, indeed be implemented as a singlecomponent that can be used to send or receive data relative to more thanone destination or source, respectively. Examples of communicationcircuitry 402 include transceivers such as a network port (e.g., anEthernet port), a WiFi card, or any other suitable device or circuitrywhich facilitates communication with other systems and devices.

Storage system 416 may include any suitable hardware, software, or bothfor implementing an organized data storage system capable of storing oneor more databases and information related to, for example, merchantdata, client device data, user data, authentication, rules, and carrierdata. For example, storage system 416 may include database 414. In someembodiments, storage system 416 may store information which is notstored in database 414, such as information related to merchant data,for example APIs, HTML for content pages, any other suitableinformation, and any combination thereof.

Database 414 may include one or more data storage systems capable ofstoring information related to, for example, merchant data, clientdevice data, user data, and carrier data. Information related tomerchant data may include, for example, APIs, HTML for content pages,merchant identification information, payload information, data relatedto criteria for revoking authentication, any other merchant data, or anycombination thereof. Information related to client device data mayinclude, for example, a mobile device number, identification informationassociated with a client device, any other client device data, or anycombination thereof. Information related to user data may include, forexample, authentication information for an authenticated user,credential information for an authenticated user, any other user relatedinformation, or any combination thereof. Carrier data may include, forexample, the carrier network associated with a client device. In someembodiments, database 414 may store information in an encrypted form.For example, hashed information may be generated using a hash operation,and the hashed information may be stored in database 414.

Processing equipment 412 may be configured to process data received fromother systems and devices (e.g., a client device, an aggregator system,or any other suitable system or device), process data to be output toother systems and devices, generate data, analyze data (e.g., confirmauthentication information provided by a client device), and performother tasks. In some embodiments, processing equipment 412 may includeone or more circuitries for performing the functionality as describedherein, such as user account management circuitry 404, encryptioncircuitry 406, request processing circuitry 408, transaction processingcircuitry 410, any other suitable processing equipment, or anycombination thereof. The circuitries within processing equipment 412 maycommunicate with one another to implement the features described herein.Additionally, the circuitries within processing equipment 412 may all beimplemented together on one or more devices. Processing equipment 412may communicate with communication circuitry 402 and database 414 toretrieve and/or transmit information. For example, processing equipment412 may retrieve credential information associated with a user inpossession of a client device from database 414 before allowing atransaction to be made on the client device. Processing equipment 412may be any suitable software, hardware circuitry, or both sufficient toimplement the circuitries within.

User account management circuitry 404 may be configured with anysuitable software, hardwired instructions, or both to manage userinformation and transactions associated with the users. For example,user account management circuitry 404 may be at least a portion of oneor more integrated circuit processors. In some embodiments, userinformation and transaction information may be received, for example, byan aggregator system, such as aggregator system 300, which is configuredto attract and engage new users for merchant system 400. The aggregatorsystem may communicate the user information and transaction informationto merchant system 400,and merchant system 400 may receive theinformation using communication circuitry 402. Communication circuitry402 may communicate the information to user account management circuitry404. In some embodiments, user account management circuitry 404 may beconfigured to associate information related to a transaction withinformation for a user who engaged in the transaction, such that theuser may gain access to benefits associated with a transaction. Forexample, account management circuitry 404 may receive informationassociated with a user, may separately receive information associatedwith a transaction for a healthcare membership made by the user, and mayassociate the transaction with the user such that the user is grantedaccess to the healthcare membership benefits. Account managementcircuitry 404 may transmit and receive information to and from database414. For example, account management circuitry 404 may associate userrelated information with received transaction related information, andmay transmit the associated user and transaction related information todatabase 414.

Encryption circuitry 406 may be configured with any suitable software,hardwired instructions, or both to encrypt, decrypt, or both informationsuch as, for example, a payload, information to be stored in database414, any other suitable information, or any combination thereof. Forexample, encryption circuitry 406 may be at least a portion of one ormore integrated circuit processors. Encrypting information may protectthe information from being stolen, hacked, or otherwise leaked to asource which does not have permission to access the information. In someembodiments, information may be encrypted using an encryption key, suchas a symmetric key, an asymmetric key, any other suitable encryptionmethod, or any combination thereof. For example, an aggregator systemmay provision a merchant system with an encryption key, and the merchantsystem may use the encryption key to encrypt information. In someembodiments, the advanced encryption standard (AES), or any othersuitable strong symmetric-key block cipher, should be used wheninformation is encrypted by encryption circuitry 406. In someembodiments, information to be encrypted may include a payload generatedby payload generation circuitry 404. Merchant system 400 may pass apayload encrypted by encryption circuitry 406 to a client device, andthe encrypted payload may facilitate client-initiated interactionbetween a client device and an aggregator system. An encrypted payloadmay be unique for a client device, but not unique for each request madeby the client device.

Request processing circuitry 408 may be configured with any suitablesoftware, hardwired instructions, or both to process requests from othersystems and devices, for example, carrier system 104 of FIG. 1,aggregator system 100 of FIG. 1, or client device 106 of FIG. 1. Forexample, request processing circuitry 408 may be at least a portion ofone or more integrated circuit processors. Requests may include arequest to output information, such as identification information orauthentication information, a request to accept information, any othersuitable request, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, oneor more requests may be received by communication circuitry 402 andpassed from communication circuitry 402 to request processing circuitry408. Request processing circuitry 408 may determine an appropriateresponse to each of the one or more requests, for example, processinginformation, generating information, analyzing information,communicating with another circuitry within processing equipment 412,transmitting data to database 414, receiving data from database 414, anyother appropriate response, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, request processing circuitry may process, respond to, orboth, requests received from other circuitries within processingequipment 412.

Transaction processing circuitry 410 may be configured with any suitablesoftware, hardwired circuitry, or both to process a transaction made ona client device. For example, transaction processing circuitry 410 maybe at least a portion of one or more integrated circuit processors.Processing a transaction may include, for example, submitting paymentinformation, completing a sale, any other suitable process, or anycombination thereof. A transaction may be a purchase transaction, aregistration, any other suitable process, or any combination thereof. Insome embodiments, transaction processing circuitry 410 may use datastored in database 414 to process a transaction. In other embodiments,transaction processing circuitry 410 may use data received from anothersystem, such as an aggregator system, to process a transaction. Forexample, a client device may visit a website associated with merchantsystem 400 to make a purchase transaction, and merchant system 400 mayreceive information from an aggregator system, such as aggregator system100 of FIG. 1, to process the purchase transaction. In some embodiments,transaction processing circuitry 410 may pre-populate transaction datafields with information received from another system or device, orinformation received form database 414.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of illustrative carrier system 500 inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Carriersystem 500 may be any suitable carrier system, such as carrier system208 of FIG. 2 or carrier system 104 of FIG. 1. In some embodiments,carrier system 500 may be implemented in a network environment, such asthat of FIG. 1. Carrier system 500 may include any suitable software,hardware circuitry, or both configured to implement the features asdescribed herein. For example, carrier system 500 may include serverhardware circuitry and software. Carrier system 500 may includecommunication circuitry 502, storage system 516, and processingequipment 516.

Communication circuitry 502 may be configured with any suitablesoftware, hardwired instructions, or both to communicate with database514 and processing equipment 516, and may include inputs, outputs, anyother mechanisms which facilitate communication with other systems anddevices, or any combination thereof. An input or output is a relativecommunication channel that can be used to receive or send data,respectively. A communication channel may be established as, forexample, an IP protocol-based communications session using any suitablenetwork infrastructure, including the Internet, any proprietary LAN,WAN, any other suitable network infrastructure, or any combinationthereof. Inputs and outputs can be implemented as one or more physicalports, a data storage device, any other suitable hardware circuitryinterface, software interface, or any combination thereof. For example,carrier system 500 may include an aggregator input coupled to anaggregator system and configured to receive data from the aggregatorsystem, an aggregator output coupled to the aggregator system andconfigured to output data to the aggregator system, a merchant inputcoupled to a merchant system and configured to receive data from themerchant system, a merchant output coupled to the merchant system andconfigured to output data to the merchant system, a client device inputcoupled to a client device and configured to receive data from theclient device, a client device output coupled to the client device andconfigured to output data to the client device, any other suitable inputor output, or any combination thereof. In the context of the presentdisclosure, it may be preferential for carrier system 500 to not includea merchant input and a merchant output. That is, carrier system 500 neednot be able to communicate with a merchant system in preferredembodiments of the present disclosure. While different inputs andoutputs are described, it will be understood that they need not beseparate components and two or more of the inputs and/or outputs may,indeed be implemented as a single component that can be used to send orreceive data relative to more than one destination or source,respectively. Examples of communication circuitry 502 includetransceivers such as a network port (e.g., an Ethernet port), a WiFicard, or any other suitable device or circuitry which facilitatescommunication with other systems and devices.

Storage system 516 may include any suitable hardware, software, or bothfor implementing an organized data storage system capable of storing oneor more databases and information related to, for example, account data,rules, and CRM information associated with a user in possession of aclient device. For example, storage system 516 may include database 514.In some embodiments, storage system 516 may store information which isnot stored in database 514, and carrier system 500 may be configured tocommunicate such information to a trusted aggregator system, such asaggregator system 300.

Database 514 may include one or more data storage systems capable ofstoring information related to, for example, account data and CRMinformation associated with a user in possession of a client device. Insome embodiments, database 514 may store information in an encryptedform. For example, hashed information may be generated using a hashoperation, and the hashed information may be stored in database 514.

Processing equipment 504 may be configured to process data received fromother systems and devices (e.g., a client device, an aggregator system,or any other suitable system or device), process data to be output toother systems and devices (e.g., CRM information), and perform othertasks. In some embodiments, processing equipment 504 may include one ormore circuitries for performing the functionality as described herein,such as message creation circuitry 506, redirect circuitry 508, requestprocessing circuitry 510, CRM information retrieval circuitry 512, anyother suitable processing equipment, or any combination thereof. Thecircuitries within processing equipment 504 may communicate with oneanother to implement the features as described herein. Additionally, thecircuitries within processing equipment 504 may be implemented togetheron one or more devices. Processing equipment 504 may be configured tocommunicate with communication circuitry 502 and database 514 toretrieve and/or transmit information related to user account data, CRMinformation, any other information, or any combination thereof.Processing equipment 504 may be any suitable software, hardwarecircuitry, or both sufficient to implement the circuitries within.

Message creation circuitry 506 may be configured with any suitablesoftware, hardwired instructions, or both to create a message such as,for example, a short message service (SMS) message, a silent SMSmessage, any other suitable type of message, or any combination thereof.For example, message creation circuitry 506 may be at least a portion ofone or more integrated circuit processors. In some embodiments, messagecreation circuitry 506 may be configured to generate an SMS message inresponse to a request from another system or device, such as aggregatorsystem 100 of FIG. 1 or client device 106 of FIG. 1. For example,carrier system 500 may receive a request to generate an SMS message andsend it to a client device, and message creation circuitry may createthe SMS message and may specify that the message should be sent to themobile phone number of the client device.

Redirect circuitry 508 may be configured with any suitable software,hardwired instructions, or both to redirect, for example, a request,information, or both from one location (e.g., a system) to another. Forexample, redirect circuitry 508 may be at least a portion of one or moreintegrated circuit processors. In some embodiments, redirect circuitry508 may be configured to redirect an SMS message from one system ordevice to another system or device. In other embodiments, redirectcircuitry 508 may be configured to perform an http redirect from awebsite associated with one system to a website associated with anothersystem. Redirect circuitry 508 may additionally be configured to performany other suitable redirect from one system to another. In someembodiments, redirect circuitry 508 may receive instructions which causethe redirect to be performed. In some embodiments, redirect circuitry508 may receive such instructions from request processing circuitry 510.

Request processing circuitry 510 may be configured with any suitablesoftware, hardwired instructions, or both to process requests from othersystems and devices, for example, aggregator system 100 of FIG. 1 orclient device 106 of FIG. 1. For example, request processing circuitry510 may be at least a portion of one or more integrated circuitprocessors. Requests may include a request for information, such as useraccount information or CRM information, any other suitable request, orany combination thereof. One or more requests may be received bycommunication circuitry 502 and passed from communication circuitry 502to request processing circuitry 510. Request processing circuitry 510may determine an appropriate response to each of the one or morerequests, such as processing information, communicating with anothercircuitry within processing equipment 504, transmitting data to database514, receiving data from database 514, any other appropriate response,or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, request processingcircuitry 510 may process, respond, or both to requests received fromother circuitries within processing equipment 504.

CRM information retrieval circuitry 512 may be configured with anysuitable software, hardwired circuitry, or both to retrieve CRMinformation associated with a client device. For example, CRMinformation retrieval circuitry 512 may be at least a portion of one ormore integrated circuit processors. In some embodiments, CRM informationmay include information related to an account associated with a user inpossession of a client device (e.g., payment information, name, address,social security number, etc.), or any other suitable information whichmay be obtained through interactions between carrier system 500 and aclient device. CRM information retrieval circuitry 512 may be configuredto retrieve appropriate CRM information from database 514. In someembodiments, CRM information retrieval circuitry 512 may be configuredto retrieve appropriate CRM information in response to a requestreceived from request processing circuitry 510. For example, anaggregator system, such as aggregator system 100 of FIG. 1, may requestCRM information associated with an identified client device from carriersystem 500, and CRM information retrieval circuitry 512 may retrieve therequested CRM information and provide it to communication circuitry 502to be output to the aggregator system.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of illustrative client device 600 inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Clientdevice 600 may be any suitable client device, such as client device 206of FIG. 2 or client device 106 of FIG. 1. In some embodiments clientdevice 600 may be implemented in a network environment, such as that ofFIG. 1. Client device 600 may include any suitable software, hardwarecircuitry, or both configured to implement the features as describedherein. Client device 600 may include display 602, communicationcircuitry 616, power supply 622, speaker 610, microphone 612, keyboard614, memory 608, and processing equipment 620.

Display 602 may be configured to display any information stored on orreceived by client device 600 in any suitable format. Informationdisplayed may include, for example, information requested by a user ofclient device 600, information related to client device 600, informationrelated to a transaction, information related to an mobile application,information received from another system or device, information to besent to another system or device, an SMS message, any other suitableinformation, or any combination thereof. Display 602 may be, forexample, a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display, plasmadisplay, any other suitable display, or any combination thereof.

Power supply 622 may be configured to supply power to client device 600.Power supply 622 may be any suitable internal or external power sourcesuch as, for example, a battery.

Speaker 610 may be configured to provide audible sound. The audiblesound may be related to a phone call on client device 600, anapplication running on client device 600, an alarm set on client device600, a transaction, any other suitable process or application, or anycombination thereof.

Microphone 612 may be configured to receive user input such as, forexample, audible user input. The inputs received by microphone 612 mayinclude information related to, for example, a phone call on clientdevice 600, a user in possession of client device 600, a transaction,any other suitable information, or any combination thereof.

Keyboard 614 may be configured to receive user input such as, forexample, text input. The inputs received by keyboard 614 may beinformation related to, for example, a message stored on or created onclient device 600, a user in possession of client device 600, atransaction, any other suitable information, or any combination thereof.

Communication circuitry 616 may include inputs, outputs, any othermechanisms which facilitate communication with other systems anddevices, or any combination thereof. Communication circuitry 616 may beconfigured with any suitable software, hardwired instructions, or both.An input or output is a relative communication channel that can be usedto receive or send data, respectively. A communication channel may beestablished as, for example, an IP protocol-based communications sessionusing any suitable network infrastructure, including the Internet, anyproprietary LAN, WAN, any other suitable network infrastructure, or anycombination thereof. Inputs and outputs can be implemented as one ormore physical ports, a data storage device, any other suitable hardwarecircuitry interface, software interface, or any combination thereof. Forexample, client device 600 may include a carrier input coupled to acarrier system and configured to receive data from the carrier system, acarrier output coupled to the carrier system and configured to outputdata to the carrier system, a merchant input coupled to a merchantsystem and configured to receive data from the merchant system, amerchant output coupled to the merchant system and configured to outputdata to the merchant system, an aggregator input coupled to anaggregator system and configured to receive data from the aggregatorsystem, an aggregator output coupled to the aggregator system andconfigured to output data to the aggregator system, any other suitableinput or output, or any combination thereof. While different inputs andoutputs are described, it will be understood that they need not beseparate components and two or more of the inputs and/or outputs may,indeed be implemented as a single component that can be used to send orreceive data relative to more than one destination or source,respectively. Examples of communication circuitry 616 includetransceivers such as a network port (e.g., an Ethernet port), a WiFicard, or any other suitable device or circuitry which facilitatescommunication with other systems and devices. Communication circuitry616 may be configured to communicate with memory 608, processingequipment 620, speaker 610, microphone 612, keyboard 614, power supply622, and display 602.

Memory 608 may be one or more suitable memory devices such as, forexample, a hard disk drive, flash memory, RAM, an optical disk, anyother suitable memory device, or any combination thereof. Memory 608 mayinclude identification information 604 and other information 606.Identification information 604 may include any suitable identificationinformation related to client device 600. For example, identificationinformation 604 may include hardware circuitry or software informationassociated with client device 600, a mobile phone number associated withclient device 600, device model related information associated withclient device 600, information related to a user in possession of clientdevice 600, information related to a carrier system associated withclient device 600, any other suitable identification information, or anycombination thereof. Other information 606 may include any informationstored in memory 608 other than identification information 604. Forexample, other information 606 may store information related toapplications, messaging, photos and videos, transactions, merchants,networks, capacity and storage, any other suitable information, or anycombination thereof.

Processing equipment 620 may be configured to process data received fromother systems and devices (e.g., a merchant system, a carrier system, anaggregator system, or any other suitable system or device), process datato be output to other systems and devices, process data related tomobile applications, and perform other tasks. In some embodiments,processing equipment 620 may include one or more circuitries forperforming the functionality as described herein, such as authenticationcircuitry 616, processing circuitry 618, any other suitable processingequipment, or any combination thereof. The circuitries within processingequipment 620 may communicate with one another to implement the featuresas described herein. Additionally, the circuitries within processingequipment 620 may all be implemented together on one or more devices.Processing equipment 620 may be configured to communicate withcommunication circuitry 616, memory 608, speaker 610, microphone 612,keyboard 614, power supply 622, and display 602. Processing equipment620 may be any suitable software, hardware circuitry, or both sufficientto implement the circuitries within.

Authentication circuitry 616 may be configured with any suitablesoftware, hardwired instructions, or both to authenticate client device600. For example, authentication circuitry 616 may be at least a portionof one or more integrated processors. In some embodiments,authenticating client device 600 may include authenticating a user inpossession of client device 600. In some embodiments, authenticationcircuitry 616 may communicate with a system, such as a merchant systemor an aggregator system, via communication circuitry 616, in order toauthenticate client device 600. Authenticating client device 600 mayinclude prompting a user in possession of client device 600 to inputinformation. Information may be input via display 602, keyboard 614,microphone 612, any other suitable user input, or any combinationthereof. Information may include, for example, uniquely identifyinginformation related to the user in possession of client device 600. Insome embodiments, authentication circuitry 616 may communicate withmemory 608 to authenticate client device 600. For example, memory 608may store information received from an aggregator system, such asaggregator system 100 of FIG. 1, and subsequent to prompting a user inpossession of client device 600 for information, authenticationcircuitry 616 may compare the entered information to that stored inmemory 608.

Processing circuitry 618 may be configured with any suitable software,hardwired instructions, or both to implement any features other thanauthentication. For example, processing circuitry 618 may be at least aportion of one or more integrated circuit processors. For example,processing circuitry 618 may be configured to run applications, tocompute information, to process instructions, to carry out functionsrelated to client device operation, to carry out any other suitableoperation or implementation, or any combination thereof.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram including illustrative steps 700 for outputtingdata corresponding to a user and data corresponding to a transaction toa merchant system in accordance with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In some embodiments, the steps 700 may be performed by anaggregator system, such as aggregator system 100 of FIG. 1, aggregatorsystem 202 of FIG. 2, or aggregator system 300 of FIG. 3.

At step 702 the aggregator system may cause an advertisement associatedwith a merchant system to be displayed on a client device. In someembodiments, the client device may be associated with a user. Theadvertisement may be provided by processing equipment such asadvertising circuitry 316 of FIG. 3 or MCAP 306 of FIG. 3. Theadvertisement may include information associated with a merchant systemsuch as, for example, the promotion of a product or service provided bythe merchant system. In some embodiments, the advertisement may betargeted to be delivered to specific subset of users based on one ormore parameters such as, for example, the carrier system associated withthe respective client devices of the users, information related to theage of the users, information related to the gender of the users,information related to the geographic location of the users, any othersuitable parameters, or any combination thereof. For example, anadvertisement related to the promotion of an online dating membershipprovided by a merchant system may be targeted to be delivered to clientdevices belonging to females between the ages of twenty and twenty-four.

At step 704 the aggregator system may receive an indication of a userselection of the advertisement displayed at step 702. A user selectionmay include, for example, a user clicking on the advertisement. In someembodiments, the indication of a user selection may be received by theaggregator system using communication circuitry 302 of FIG. 3. Forexample, at step 702 an aggregator system may deliver and cause to bedisplayed on a user's client device an advertisement related to thepromotion of a healthcare membership provided by a merchant system, andat step 704 the aggregator system may receive an indication at a clientdevice input that the user selected the advertisement related to thepromotion of the healthcare membership.

At step 706 the aggregator system may provide a content page to theclient device. The content page may be, for example, a webpage, and maybe provided in response to the indication of a user selection of theadvertisement received at step 704. The aggregator system may providethe content page using processing equipment, such as MCAP 306 ofaggregator system 300. The content page may include additionalinformation related to the product or service being promoted by theadvertisement selected, as well as data fields related to userinformation and information required to process a purchase transactionrequired to receive the product or service being promoted in theselected advertisement. For example, in response to a user selection ofan advertisement related to the promotion of an online dating serviceprovided by a merchant system, the aggregator system may provide acontent page to the user's client device that includes additionalpricing details about the online dating service being promoted as wellas data fields that must be completed to process a payment required toparticipate in the online dating service.

At step 708 the aggregator system may receive CRM information. Theaggregator system may receive CRM information from a carrier systemassociated with the client device of the user, and may receive the CRMinformation using, for example, communication component 302 of FIG. 3.In some embodiments, the aggregator system may receive CRM informationin response to a request made by the aggregator system. The CRMinformation may be associated with the user, and the user may have beenidentified by the aggregator system prior to the aggregator systemreceiving the CRM information.

At step 710 the aggregator system may process a transaction for the useron behalf of the merchant system. In some embodiments, the transactionmay be processed by the aggregator system based on the CRM informationassociated with the user. Processing the transaction may include, forexample, registering the user with a new account with the merchantsystem, processing a payment for the user on behalf of the merchantsystem, or both. In some embodiments, the aggregator system may processthe transaction by pre-populating data fields related to the transactionincluded in the content page provided at step 706. For example, a usermay select an advertisement for the promotion of a product or serviceprovided by a merchant through an associated merchant system, theaggregator system may identify the user based on the user's clientdevice, the aggregator may deliver a content page including data fieldsrelated to a payment required to receive the product or service beingpromoted by the advertisement to the user's client device, and theaggregator system may pre-populate the data fields and process thepayment for the user on behalf of the merchant system.

At step 712 the aggregator system may communicate data associated withthe user and data associated with the transaction to the merchantsystem. In some embodiments, data associated with the user may includeat least a subset of the CRM information associated with the user, anddata associated with the transaction may include details related to apayment or payment information. The aggregator system may communicatedata, for example, using communication circuitry 302 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of illustrative MCAP 800 in accordance withsome embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, MCAP800 may be MCAP 306 of aggregator system 300. MCAP 800 may be anysuitable software, hardware circuitry, or both configured to provide anintegrated platform that allows an aggregator system to performfunctions on behalf of a merchant system and to engage users inconnection with a product or service provided by the merchant system. Insome embodiments, MCAP 800 may include one or more components forperforming the functionality as described herein, such as MCAP URL 802,content pages 804, MCAP server 806, merchant system APIs 808, Javascriptlibrary 810, payment system 812, any other suitable components orprocessing equipment, or any combination thereof. The components withinMCAP 800 may communicate with one another to implement the featuresdescribed herein.

MCAP URL 802 may be a URL that is called in response to a user selectionof an advertisement. The MCAP URL call may include parameters thatidentify the advertisement selected. The MCAP URL may be called by anaggregator system, such as aggregator system 300, or any other suitableprocessing equipment or entity. In some embodiments, the aggregatorsystem may call the MCAP URL to request MCAP 800 to provide a contentpage to a client device in response to a user selection of anadvertisement. The MCAP URL need not provide any content, but ratherredirects the web browser of the client device to the URL associatedwith the content page.

Content pages 804 may be provided by MCAP 800 in response to a call tothe MCAP URL. Content pages may be, for example, webpages, and may bedisplayed on a client device using a web browser. Content pages mayprovide additional information related to a product or service beingpromoted by an advertisement, and may be provided by MCAP 800 inresponse to a user selection of the advertisement. For example, a usermay select on a client device an advertisement for the promotion of anonline dating service membership, an aggregator system may call the MCAPURL and the call may identify the online dating service membership beingpromoted, the MCAP URL may redirect the web browser of the client deviceto the URL of a content page, and the content page may provideadditional pricing information related to the online dating servicemembership being promoted and data fields that must be completed toreceive the online dating service membership.

MCAP server 806 may be any suitable software, hardware circuitry, orboth configured to host and implement the features described withrespect to the MCAP URL and the content pages, and to call APIs includedin the content pages. In some embodiments, MCAP server 806 may enablethe MCAP URL to redirect the web browser of a client device to a URLassociated with a content page. In some embodiments, the MCAP server mayenable APIs included in the content pages to be called to process atransaction.

Merchant system APIs 808 may allow the content pages to perform actionson behalf of a merchant system. Merchant system APIs 808 may be, forexample, APIs stored by aggregator system 300. In some embodiments,these actions may include, for example, processing a transaction,requesting data from the merchant system, any other suitable action, orany combination thereof. For example, a content page may include datafields required to process a user registration, and when the data fieldsare completed, a merchant system API may register the user.

Javascript library 810 may include one or more data storage systemscapable of storing information related to merchant system APIs 808. Insome embodiments, Javascript library 810 may be included in contentpages, such that the merchant system APIs 808 stored in Javascriptlibrary 810 may be called by the content pages to perform actions onbehalf of a merchant system. Specifically, merchant system APIs 808 maybe called by code written in Javascript, by code written in any othersuitable computer programming language, or by any other suitable processor software in the aggregator system or in MCAP 800.

Payment system 812 may be any suitable software, hardware circuitry, orboth configured to process a payment for a user on behalf of a merchantsystem. Payment system 812 may be requested to process a payment for auser based on completed data fields in a content page. In someembodiments, the content page may include code, which when executed, isconfigured to initiate the payment processing performed by paymentsystem 812.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an illustrative process flow 900 foracquiring a new user in accordance with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Entry points 902 may include any suitable application,webpage, promotional email, or other content page capable of providingand displaying advertisements associated with a merchant system on aclient device. The advertisements may include information related to,for example, a promotion of a product or service provided by themerchant system. The advertisements may be delivered to the clientdevice by, for example, advertising circuitry 316 of aggregator system300, and may be displayed by the client device. In some embodiments, anaggregator system may use an advertising network to deliveradvertisements, such that they appear on a webpage, for example, webpage908. For example, advertising circuitry 316 of aggregator system 300 mayuse an advertising network to access a website that hostsadvertisements, and may publish one or more advertisements on thewebpage. Advertisements may additionally be displayed in a promotionalemail on the client device, such as email 910. In some embodiments, aclient device may include an application, such as application 920, whichmay communicate with an aggregator system to provide and displayadvertisements on the client device. For example, a client device mayinclude an application which displays advertisements related to weeklygrocery discounts offered by a merchant system, where the advertisementsare provided to the application by an aggregator system. Theadvertisements presented by webpage 908, application 920, and email 910may include advertisements that are targeted to be delivered to aspecific subset of users based on one or more parameters, such as thecarrier system associated with the respective client devices of theusers, information related to the age of the users, information relatedto the gender of the users, information related to the geographiclocation of the users, any other suitable parameters, or any combinationthereof.

When a user selects an advertisement on the client device by, forexample, clicking on the advertisement, a content page may be providedto the client device by MCAP 904. MCAP 904 may be any suitable MCAP,such as MCAP 800 of FIG. 8 or MCAP 306 of FIG. 3. MCAP 904 may provide acontent page to be displayed on the client device based on the userselection of an advertisement at entry points 902. The content pageprovided may be, for example, single-page user registration 912.Single-page user registration 912 may include data fields related toinformation which must be completed to register the user with themerchant system. The data fields may be pre-populated by MCAP 904, forexample, based on CRM information received from the carrier systemassociated with the client device of the user. In some embodiments, theclient device may be identified, for example by identification circuitry314 of FIG. 3, prior to receiving CRM information. The data fields mayalternatively be filled out on the client device by the user. Uponcompletion of the data fields of single-page user registration 912,content page one-click payment 914 may be provided to and displayed bythe client device. Content page one-click payment 914 may include datafields related to information required to process a payment on behalf ofthe merchant system to receive the product or service being promoted bythe advertisement selected at entry points 902. The data fields may bepre-populated by MCAP 904, for example, based on CRM informationreceived from the carrier system associated with the client device ofthe user. The data fields may alternatively be filled out on the clientdevice by the user. The information related to the completed data fieldsof the single-page user registration 912 and the one-click payment 914may be send to the merchant system, and the user may subsequentlyreceive the product or service.

Merchant system 906 may be any suitable merchant system, such asmerchant system 102 of FIG. 1, merchant system 204 of FIG. 2, ormerchant system 400 of FIG. 4. Merchant system may receive theinformation related to the completed data fields of single-page userregistration 912 and may create a new user at 916. For example, new usercreation 916 may be performed by user account management circuitry 404of FIG. 4. Merchant system may receive the information related to thecompleted data fields of one-click payment 914 and may associate thepayment to the user at 918. For example, associate payment to user 918may be performed by account management circuitry 404 of FIG. 4, and mayinclude associating the payment with the user created at 916.

FIG. 10 shows a sequence of illustrative displays in which a useraccount is created and a payment is processed in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure. Display 1000 may be a contentpage displayed on a client device associated with a user, and mayinclude information associated with a webpage being viewed by the user.Advertisement 1012 may be placed in the webpage by, for example,aggregator system 300. Advertisement 1012 may include informationrelated to the promotion of a product or service provided by a merchantthrough an associated merchant system. The user may select advertisement1012 by, for example, clicking on the advertisement.

An aggregator system, such as aggregator system 300, may provide contentpage 1002 to the client device to be displayed based on the userselection of advertisement 1012. Content page 1002 may includeadditional information related to the product or service being promotedby advertisement 1012. Content page 1002 need not be a singular contentpage, and may instead be a series of content pages navigable by the userof the client device, for example, by selecting a content item in onecontent page to transition to another content page. For example, theuser may select a dating profile displayed by content page 1002 and inresponse the aggregator system may provide content page 1004 to theclient device to be displayed.

Content page 1004 may include data fields 1018 related to userinformation which must be completed in order to receive the product orservice being promoted by advertisement 1012. Data fields 1018 may bepre-populated by the aggregator system, for example, based on CRMinformation received from a carrier system associated with the clientdevice of the user. In some embodiments, the client device may beidentified, for example by identification circuitry 314 of FIG. 3 priorto receiving CRM information. After data fields 1018 are pre-populatedby the aggregator system, the user may select to create an account, andthe aggregator system may provide content page 1006 to the client deviceto be displayed.

Content page 1006 may include pre-populated payment information, basedon CRM information associated with the user received from the carriersystem associated with the client device of the user. The paymentinformation may be pre-populated by the aggregator system. The user mayconfirm the payment information on content page 1006, and the aggregatorsystem may process the payment for the user on behalf of the merchantsystem at 1022.

The aggregator system may display content page 1008 based on the paymentprocessed at 1022, where content page 1008 may include a confirmationthat indicates that the user is now a registered user with the merchantsystem. The aggregator system may subsequently cause the web browser ofthe client device to be redirected to content page 1010, published bythe merchant system, where content page 1010 contains content related tothe purchase made by the user.

It will be understood that the steps above are exemplary and that insome implementations, steps may be added, removed, omitted, repeated,reordered, modified in any other suitable way, or any combinationthereof.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of thisdisclosure, and various modifications may be made by those skilled inthe art without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Theabove-described embodiments are presented for purposes of illustrationand not of limitation. The present disclosure also can take many formsother than those explicitly described herein. Accordingly, it isemphasized that this disclosure is not limited to the explicitlydisclosed methods, systems, and apparatuses, but is intended to includevariations to and modifications thereof, which are within the spirit ofthe following claims.

1.-27. (canceled)
 28. An aggregator system comprising: a carrier inputcoupled to a carrier system; a client device input coupled to a clientdevice associated with a user; a client device output coupled to theclient device; a merchant output coupled to a merchant system; andprocessing equipment configured to: transmit, using the client deviceoutput, a selectable option associated with the merchant system fordisplay on the client device; receive, using the client device input, anindication of a user selection of the selectable option; provide, usingthe client device output, a content page to the client device inresponse to the receipt of the indication of the user selection;retrieve, using the carrier input, from the carrier system CRMinformation associated with the user in response to the receipt of theindication of the user selection; process a transaction for the user onbehalf of the merchant system based at least in part on the CRMinformation, and transmit, using the merchant output, data associatedwith the transaction to the merchant system.
 29. The aggregator systemof claim 28, wherein the selectable option comprises a displayedselectable advertisement associated with the merchant system anddisplayed on behalf of the merchant system.
 30. The aggregator system ofclaim 29, wherein the processing equipment is configured to target theselectable advertisement for transmission to the client device based onthe CRM information associated with the user.
 31. The aggregator systemof claim 30, wherein the processing equipment is configured to targetthe selectable advertisement for transmission to the client device basedon the CRM information matching criteria provided by the merchantsystem.
 32. The aggregator system of claim 28, wherein the content pagecomprises one or more fillable data fields and wherein the processingequipment is further configured to pre-populate at least one of the oneor more data fields based at least in part on the CRM information. 33.The aggregator system of claim 28, wherein the transaction is one of apayment transaction, a registration transaction, and a combinationthereof.
 34. The aggregator system of claim 28, further comprisingidentification circuitry configured to identify the client device.
 35. Amethod comprising, using an aggregator system for: transmitting, using aclient device output of the aggregator system, a selectable optionassociated with a merchant system for display on a client device;receiving, using a client device input of the aggregator system, anindication of a user selection of the selectable option; providing,using the client device output of the aggregator system, a content pageto the client device in response to the receipt of the indication of theuser selection; retrieving, using a carrier input of the aggregatorsystem, from a carrier system CRM information associated with the userin response to the receipt of the indication of the user selection;processing, using processing equipment of the aggregator system, atransaction for the user on behalf of the merchant system based at leastin part on the CRM information, and transmitting, using a merchantoutput of the aggregator system, data associated with the transaction tothe merchant system.
 36. The method of claim 35, wherein the selectableoption comprises a displayed selectable advertisement associated withthe merchant system and displayed on behalf of the merchant system. 37.The method of claim 36, further comprising: targeting, using theprocessing equipment of the aggregator system, the selectableadvertisement for transmission to the client device based on the CRMinformation associated with the user.
 38. The method of claim 37,further comprising: targeting, using the processing equipment of theaggregator system, the selectable advertisement for transmission to theclient device based on the CRM information matching criteria provided bythe merchant system.
 39. The method of claim 35, wherein the contentpage comprises one or more Tillable data fields, and the method furthercomprising: pre-populating, using the processing equipment of theaggregator system, at least one of the one or more data fields based atleast in part on the CRM information.
 40. The method of claim 35,wherein the transaction is one of a payment transaction, a registrationtransaction, and a combination thereof.
 41. The method of claim 35,further comprising: identifying, using identification circuitry of theaggregator system, the client device.
 42. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable mediumcomprising: computer program instructions recorded thereon, wherein thecomputer program instructions, when executed by an aggregator system,cause the aggregator system, to perform operations comprising:transmitting, using a client device output of the aggregator system, aselectable option associated with a merchant system for display on aclient device; receiving, using a client device input of the aggregatorsystem, an indication of a user selection of the selectable option;providing, using the client device output of the aggregator system, acontent page to the client device in response to the receipt of theindication of the user selection; retrieving, using a carrier input ofthe aggregator system, from a carrier system CRM information associatedwith the user in response to the receipt of the indication of the userselection; processing, using processing equipment of the aggregatorsystem, a transaction for the user on behalf of the merchant systembased at least in part on the CRM information, and transmitting, using amerchant output of the aggregator system, data associated with thetransaction to the merchant system.
 43. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 42, wherein the selectable optioncomprises a displayed selectable advertisement associated with themerchant system and displayed on behalf of the merchant system.
 44. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 43, wherein thecomputer program instructions, when executed by the aggregator systemcause the aggregator system to: target, using the processing equipmentof the aggregator system, the selectable advertisement for transmissionto the client device based on the CRM information associated with theuser.
 45. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 44,wherein the computer program instructions, when executed by theaggregator system cause the aggregator system to: target, using theprocessing equipment of the aggregator system, the selectableadvertisement for transmission to the client device based on the CRMinformation matching criteria provided by the merchant system.
 46. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 42, wherein the contentpage comprises one or more Tillable data fields, and wherein thecomputer program instructions, when executed by the aggregator systemcause the aggregator system to pre-populate, using the processingequipment of the aggregator system, at least one of the one or more datafields based at least in part on the CRM information.
 47. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 42, wherein thetransaction is one of a payment transaction, a registration transaction,and a combination thereof.
 48. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 42, wherein the computer program instructions, whenexecuted by the aggregator system cause the aggregator system to:identify, using identification circuitry of the aggregator system, theclient device.